If Uriyadi was born as a result of the frustration of today’s generation on many matters, its spiritual sequel Uriyadi 2 is no different. It addresses some of the genuine issues that have been plaguing society. The only difference is that Uriyadi 2 — which has been produced by Suriya — is a much bigger film and it addresses a bigger problem. As a political thriller, it might not be as hard-hitting but it definitely asks all the right questions.

Uriyadi 2 is both a political thriller and a disaster movie. It revolves around Lenin Vijay, a happy-go-lucky guy with a deep social conscience. Lenin and his friends are newly appointed at a chemical plant that has been posing serious environmental threat to the people living nearby. It takes two tragic accidents to make Lenin realise that poor maintenance is the cause behind it. When Lenin notifies the authorities, local people and leaders about the situation, nobody pays heed to his words.

The plant owner has already set his eyes on another project which will yield him more profits and is in no mood to unnecessarily spend on this plant. The local leaders are more concerned about the oncoming election, and are least bothered about people. Eventually, when a leak occurs at the plant, it costs many lives.

The basic plot is inspired by the infamous Bhopal gas tragedy. The buildup to the tragedy; the actual disaster and its aftermath is well brought out on screen. At a crisp run time of just two hours, the film doesn’t waste time in needless sub-plots and rather focuses on building the tension that leads to the leak. It also touches upon the socio-political angle, highlighting how caste comes into play and how political leaders use it in their favour.

Director Vijay Kumar also stars in the Uriyadi 2 as its main lead.

Unlike most Tamil films, Lenin Vijay is no hero in Uriyadi 2. He’s as much as scared and helpless as other people when it comes to saving lives after the leak wreaks havoc. At times, Uriyadi 2 gets melodramatic but thankfully it doesn’t spend too much time in this zone as it quickly shifts gears and looks at ways to address the problem at hand.

Uriyadi 2 as a disaster movie works quite well and no other Tamil film in recent years has touched upon this angle as realistically as this film. As a political thriller, Uriyadi 2 doesn’t quite make an impact, even though it asks all the right questions. In Uriyadi 2, Lenin’s problem isn’t personal as it involves a lot of lives, yet we see him resort to revenge when he runs out of option. It might work on a mainstream level as masses would welcome such an idea, but it really isn’t the solution when it comes to reality.